Liz owns an antiques shop, following her mother. Her first job was at a biscuit factory; she rises through the ranks from packer to inspector, when she meets Michael, who takes her out on dates and tries seduction. So she resigns then becomes a teacher. WWII starts. She meets Stephen on a country walk and he enrolls in the Royal Navy but is killed. Liz attends antiques sales to buy stock. She meets Roland who tells her he was an airman. They marry and she leaves teaching, inheriting Stephen?s stock, to add to that of her mother. A shop is bought in Uphall. She has a baby. Roland throws himself under a train but the reason is initially a mystery. Years later, she meets Peter, an antiques dealer who takes her out when he travels from London. They part but meet again at a house sale, where her daughter match-makes.